Costello Family Carves Out A Niche In Local Fishing Tournaments

Last year the early strategy was not paying off for Pete Costello and his son, Tim. They spent the opening hours of the Florida Sport Fishing Association Offshore Tournament trolling unsuccessfully.

They should have had a clue as to what was going to work. Kingfish were on the buoy line all morning.

Finally, they switched their thinking and went after live bait to entice the kings.

''We netted enough bait in an hour,'' said Costello, 38, of Port St. John's. ''The first two we tried were just demolished by the fish. On the third one we got what we wanted.''

Tim, then 9, hauled a 36-pound king mackerel over the side of The Ultimate Weapon, the family's 21-foot boat, and went on to take first place in that category. Fishermen are rewarded for the largest catch in each of nine species in this 18th annual tournament. Traditionally, this is not a kids' tournament. The state's most experienced offshore anglers like to compete in this event. Last year none of the grownups had better luck with the kings.

''I guess it bothers some of those guys to see the kids show them up,'' said Costello, who enjoys turning the rod over to his sons.

Even with knowing Tim had outclassed a lot of seasoned anglers, the family did not have the fish mounted.

''My wife said we have enough fish on our walls,'' Costello said. ''Besides, a 36-pound king kind of pales in comparison to a 70-pound wahoo.'' Tim hauled in the 70-pounder at age 8 while prefishing the tournament the year before. His father laughingly admits Tim might be a little jaded by now. This year Tim is looking for something more challenging in this tournament that could draw 300 boats Saturday morning off Port Canaveral. The Costellos will be fishing amberjack territory near the reefs.

''Knowledge and availability of the area are key,'' Costello said. ''You have better options if you know the area. The more you know about the water the better your chances.''

Just how knowledgeable the Costellos are this year will be determined at the weigh-in at 3 p.m. at Cape Marina.

Tim isn't the only Costello to have taken home a trophy in this tournament. His older brother, Chris, 13, won the outstanding junior catch when he was 8. Chris impressed everyone with a 20-pound cobia caught on 10-pound test four years ago.

Last year, Chris had to skip the tournament. He had a broken arm.

''For some reason, we have a lot of broken arms in this family,'' Costello said. ''With four broken arms the boys seem to only fish the tournament on alternate years.''

There are no broken arms this year, but Chris will be off camping when his brother and father hit the water Saturday.

In between tournaments the three spend a lot of time on the water.

''It's a chance to escape and be where nobody can get you,'' Costello said of his outings with his sons. ''It's a chance for them to experience a non- man-made type of activity.''

Costello, who is self-employed, works a lot of hours. After leaving a ''real job'' he carved decoys for a living, becoming an established bird carver. He switched to carving fish, opening his own business, Woodfins, in the family garage. Costello makes a lot of tournament trophies. He has been carving the Florida Sport Fishing Association Offshore Tournament trophies for five years.

Samples of his work -- he has not carved a bird since going into the fish line, after moving the family here from Vermont in 1979 -- adorn the walls of their home, along with the mounted fish.

Costello is especially pleased to see his sons do so well in the tournaments.